Lillian & Dan Visit

Our son needed to work a construction job in Pleasant Hill, a town about 30 miles northwest of us. He decided to drive up with his 2 year old daughter Lillian and family dog Snoopy. They arrived Thursday evening, July 19th. Bringing Lillian would give Frank and me some one on one time with our granddaughter while giving her mom a bit of a reduced load from being home with Lillian's 4 year old sister Vivian and 3 month old brother William. Bringing Snoopy would allow some back yard landscaping they were having done to be performed without canine interference. Lillian was very happy and accepting of this arrangement from the get go. Her first day she settled in with some book reading. This is a book about dinosaurs with small finger size bubble spheres that pop in or out when poked with a finger tip. These Poke-a-Dot books are really fun - kinda like popping bubble wrap but each hemisphere is reversible.

Her first day here Lillian also surprised us by asking to go potty and being successful. She is quite proud of herself and especially happy with her Hershey kiss reward. This little girl loves chocolate. Lillian's potty training is in its early stages. This happy happenstance was one time at-a-girl occurrence and did not repeat during the visit. That's OK. She is only two and we did not push.

When you are relaxing you wear slippers, right? Even if they are a bit too large for your feet and meant for your daddy. At least she got them situated between her toes... sort of.

Although we set up a Pack 'n Play for napping and night time, Lillian decided she was going to sleep in a big girl bed. We went to Big Lots and bought two large diameter orange noodles. Lillian loved the outing, riding in the cart, and being in charge of managing the noodles on the way to the register.

By slipping these under the fitted sheet at the edges of the mattress they are a convenient, and cheap, pair of bed rails. We had bought bed rails for her older sister Vivian when slept here on an earlier visit, but they are a pain to put on and a pain to make the bed when they are in place. These are a much better solution.

On Friday, Frank and I took Lillian went to Livermore's Aquatic Park while Dan was working. She is certainly well protected from the sun. We followed her mom's instructions to the letter.

Water play is one thing but sharks are another. Lillian has a fascination with the song Baby Sharks, an extremely favorite pop culture fad right now.  Info on it is available on Wikipedia. The lyrics are very simple and the tune is catchy, truly an ear worm that rivals It's A Small World.  You can find the Pinkfong version on YouTube or a 30 minute extended version also on YouTube (Lillian's preference and the one in the following photo)

Baby shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo,

Baby shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo,

Baby shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo,

Baby shark.

~

Mama shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo...

~

Daddy shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo ...

~

Grandma shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo ...

~

Grandpa shark doo doo, doo doo doo doo ...

~

Etc.

On Saturday we went to Art Under the Oaks, an outdoor tented event hosted by our local nursery where artisans display their wares and talents for viewing and for sale. There is musical entertainment to enjoy and carts to ride in. Here Lillian has a front row seat for a Hawaiian Hula and Luau type  performance.

One of the performers took a liking to Lillian and brought over his ukelele for her to try.

The name of this booth was Garden Faces. I posed Lillian to be one of those faces.

She rode in the cart some of the time but most of the time wanted to walked beside it and Grandpa, wearing her backpack.

These gargoyle stone sculptures are just about Lillian size. I think she is far cuter, though.

Lillian loved just wandering around our backyard exploring. Forget about Where's Waldo. We played Locate Lillian, a speck, far out in the reaches of our landscaping of bushes and trees and dry river beds. She loved walking along the smooth rounded rocks; I would have twisted an ankle had I attempted that.

All that exploring can work up an appetite. Can this girl ever eat!!! She loves corn on the cob and broccoli trees. But of course, though, it had to be the yellow dinosaur fork.

On Sunday Frank and I went with Alex and Lillian to a matinee performance of The Little Mermaid musical.  We already had three tickets but needed to purchase a fourth and it was nearby but not adjacent. No matter. We all sat together. Once the show began Lillian watched all of it from her vantage point in my lap. She is wearing her top with the sea horses. She picked that to wear to The Little Mermaid. Pretty smart association, huh? Yep. That's my granddaughter.

I was very glad for an intermission break to get up and walk to the lobby for a snack. As we waited on line the choices were gradually getting depleted. Once we got up to the front I showed Lillian what was left as options. She insisted in the very clear, loud, strident voice of a two-year old "I WANT CHOCOLATE!" The clerks scrambled quickly and did dig up another carton of packages of chocolate chip cookies. Lillian enjoyed them thoroughly.

Frank and Alex enjoyed the show, also. It deviates from the movie story somewhat and has a few additional songs. Actors were on wheeled heel sneakers so they appear to float across the stage as they flip their fins. Travel to the water's surface is portrayed by a series of aerial flying scenes on wires. The colors were bright, costuming was creative, and it was a lot of fun.

We trekked on back to watch the second act. Lillian perched on my lap again. Grandpa's lap was apparently not a viable alternative per Lillian. Both my legs were numb when it came time to leave at the conclusion of the show.

On our stroll back to the parking garage, both Lillian and Alex posed for pictures by Livermore's famous statue by sculptor Susan Geissler titled Sunday With Jessie. We used to have a black Germador (German Shepherd Labrador mix) named Jessie so this statue has extra significance for us.

It is bemusing how the pink paint on the boy's face is worn off by people continually patting the statue. Apparently the crowd is more efficient than the dog is at licking off the ice cream.

Once home, Lillian sets about her serious job of building towers. "Ta-Da!" she says.

She is quite adept at puzzles, also.

Monday our outing was to the grocery store. Nob Hill had two cart sizes, large red ones or smaller black ones. This was not to be a major shopping expedition and so I asked Lillian which cart she wanted. She picked a third option I had neglected to offer, a cart with a sports car affixed to the rear. I tried to convince her that sitting up higher might be better for seeing all around but she had made up her mind. I inwardly groaned but bent over and painstakingly adjusted all the straps to her tiny frame. She would have it no other way, she has been well versed in safety first. 

Well, one and a half aisles into the store she changed her mind and wanted to sit up high. I was left to push this long unwieldy "stretch limousine" about the store with her three arms lengths away. She is clutching a box of sausages. Lillian developed a taste for this particular brand from Grandpa.

It appears that not only Lillian wants to change where she sits. Snoopy decided the cat bed was to his liking, even though he could fit only the rear half his body in it.

On Tuesday morning the library was hosting a music and story time. Lillian eagerly awaited us leaving to go there, back pack in tow.

After story and music time she picked out a book and checked it out.

The book is just about as big as she is. It was called Everything but the Horse.

Once home Grandpa read to her from it and from other books in our home library.

Lillian can "read" to herself, also. This one is about the Little Mermaid.

Lillian loved petting our cat Wima, and Wima extremely tolerant and accommodating. Her feline  peaceful world had been rocked by the arrival of an active 2 year old and a nosy part-pit-bull pooch. She held her ground and her self-proclaimed rightful place on the couch for napping. Frank and I are still working the dilemma of Wima's food being poached by Snoopy. Initially Snoopy did not like tuna fish, but he acquired the taste quite rapidly.

Lillian also made sure that Snoopy was comfortable and covered with a quilt for his nap. Snoopy relished the attention.

Making sure she gave some of her attention to everyone, Lillian kept Grandpa company while watching his trains run on the layout in the garage.

Our friend Vickie dropped by to say good bye to Lillian, who was surprisingly friendly and at ease with most folks she encountered at our home or on outings. She would be leaving with her dad on Thursday to drive back to Southern California. By the way, there are no pictures of Dan in this post. He was always working!

Wednesday was a laid back day with water play on our deck and backyard exploring. In the evening Frank took her with him to Home Depot and Lowe's for a cart ride and to make sewing time for me. While she napped and while Frank was with her at the home improvement stores, I finished sewing up Goldilocks and Baby Bear for Lillian to take home with her. I did not get to finish Mama Bear and Papa Bear but promised I would send them along when I did.

Thursday, July 26th was departure day. To make sure Lillian had used up some energy before the start of the long car ride, we played ball with her a lot in an attempt to run her ragged. Her tiredness factor did not seem to be on the rise. The same could not be said of Frank and me. When it came close to nap time, we kept her awake by putting on the DVD Frozen. Lillian loves Anna and Elsa. She watched intently, tucked under a quilt of her choice, in the company of Goldilocks and Baby Bear.

Dan took our traditional "just before you take off" photo on the living room couch. Note that Wima got in the act.

Snoopy was staying behind with us in Livermore. The landscaping schedule in Southern California had slipped (...a likely story....) and the sweet but needy and challenging pup would be ours to care for, for the next few weeks. Lillian is telling Snoopy good bye, too.

The visit was great. Although I am not well-conditioned for changing table ups-downs, carseat manipulations, extended lap seating, and continuous feedings, the minor aches and pains and semi-exhaustion I accumulated will fade within a few days. However, the awesome memories of Lillian will linger. We got to know Lillian much better. She is such a smart, lovable, confident, determined, little charmer. Frank and I are walking around the house repeating her phrases:  

"Grandma do it." "Sausages." "Watermelllah." "Baby Shark." "I got it." "Wima." "Blue plate." "Ice cream cone?" "Anna and Elsa." "Chocolate!" 

Ponder Post: Not So Good

Several articles have been written of late about how social media can be demoralizing. Authors generally blog about the good things in their life, painting a picture biased toward the overly positive, leading readers to believe that their own lives are inferior. I do not want my readers to become depressed. Here is a collection of not-so-good recent events in my life. Enjoy and feel more contented with your own life.

Bad Hair Day?
I woke up one morning – the day immediately after having had my hair cut and colored at the hairdresser – to confront this in the mirror. Scary, huh?

Dinner Gone Awry?
I saw a clever tip in Pinterest about cooking fish on several lemon slices thus keeping it from sticking to the baking sheet or the grill. The idea sounded like it was worth trying. I whipped out the baking sheet I use for making Tilapia and then did a brain fart. Instead of putting aluminum foil on it to simplify cleanup as I usually do, I put parchment paper. No big deal, right? I use parchment paper for cookies all the time. Well, broiling is a lot hotter than baking and paper spontaneously combusts, probably at Fahreneit 451 if the book by Ray Bradbury is assumed to be correct. The two fillets were totally engulfed in flames. I shut the oven door robbing the flame of oxygen and watched thorugh the window until the inferno eventually extinguished itself.

Once I dared to open the oven door, tiny bits of charred paper wafted out and floated to the floor and about the kitchen. Our cat Wima was interested but was not tempted to nibble on the fish scented tidbit. Believe it or not, the fish was still edible – it's flavor was even enhanced subtly with smoky overtones. I did not need to start dinner over nor did  Frank and I need to go out to a restaurant. The pan took forever to scrub clean though with a paste of baking soda and water and a lot of elbow grease. Burger King brags about its flamed broiled burgers being superior to grilled burgers. Now I can tout that I flame broil our fish.

An Age Reminder?
By the way, hard to believe, but the book Fahrenheit 451 was originally copyrighted in 1951. The following picture is of a 60th anniversary commemorative edition. I remember reading the novel in high school, not as a classic but as contemporary literature.

Getting "Peed" On?

Frank and I were picking Alex up from his day program to take him to dental appointment. We had to wait 10-15 minutes until he came back from a field trip. Alex arrived contentedly sucking on a yellow colored frozen ice bar, presumably a generic Otter Pop™. It was a terrifically hot day and that slush pop did look very cooling. I was also kind of pleased to see Alex enjoying a new experience, one I had never thought to expose him to. Granted, to have him sucking on colored sugar immediately before a dental visit did cross my mind as non-ideal but hey, whatever.

After Alex got in the back seat of our car I had to hold his pop for him so he has two hands free to fasten his seat belt. I then handed back his pop and Frank, he, and I drove off. I glanced back at Alex and he was sucking unproductively on the top of the plastic tube, having eaten enough of the pop that the upper surface of the pop was a good two inches below the top if the tube. I felt bad that he did not have the fine motor coordination nor mental know-how to squeeze the pop up from the bottom. I asked him to hand it to me in the front seat so I could help him. As I squeezed it up, it broke in the middle, the top half flipped over on itself and dumped the melted liquid from the pop all over my top. It looked like I had been peed on but then pee is nowhere near that freezing cold! I yelped.

I straightened it and tried to do better. Would you believe I dumped it a second time drenching my pants, still not expecting that to happen and yelping in surprise? Frank could not stop laughing. Alex just wanted his pop back. I tried to curl up the bottom like a tube of tooth paste and handed it back to him. Of course the bottom did not stay curled and I gave up saying, "Here, Alex. Do the best you can. Mom cannot fix it." With 20-20 hindsight I should have just snipped off the excess plastic at the top with scissors. Oh, wait I did not have any scissors.

Alex continued to make sucking noises from the back seat during the 20 minute ride from Dublin to Livermore. Frank dropped me at home and continued on to the dentist with Alex. I took the offending juice pop/tube into the house with me when I went to change. The drained plastic looked like a urine sack that hangs from a hospital bed! I expected my hands to be sugary and stick to everything but my abdomen beneath my top and my underpants beneath my heavy jeans were all sticky as well.

Note to self: Always have wet wipes and a pair of scissors handy when dispensing Otter Pops™.

Postage Due... Really?

After a visit from Dan, Carrie and the kids I found a stray sock left behind in the bedroom. As ruthlessly efficient as Carrie is, I texted her asking if she had already thrown out the mate or should I drop this singleton in the mail. She said, "Yes, please mail it".

So I dutifully tossed it in an envelope and weighed it. It was less than one ounce so I put a stamp on the envelope and dropped it in the mail. Several days later it came back – postage due! I was so hot under the collar. The amount $3.00 is probably more than the pair of socks are worth.

After a text exchange with Carrie, we agreed to just throw it out and she would discard the one on her end. It is probably all stretched out anyway we rationalized. In the scheme of things this is not a big deal, but don't little things like this sometimes push your buttons?

Attitude Adjustment: 
Into every life a bit of rain must fall and these sprinkles that I have previously mentioned are mere minor annoyances. I have this sign over the doorway in the kitchen. I will try to follow my own advice. Writing this blog post is me dancing.

Ponder Post: A Stranger in the House

Friday, I read the crime novel A Stranger in the House ©2017 by Shari Lapena. I started it during a 1:30 pm hair appointment and continued it immediately upon returning home, staying up an hour past my bedtime to finish it that same day. I had paused quasi-willingly to be a companion to my husband by going to a movie, putting away holiday decorations, eating dinner, and watching a brief TV show. I needed to disprove his claim that when I am into a good book, he ceases to exist. Once I'd negated his assertion, I eagerly returned to my novel. A Stranger in the House was a thriller, similarly engaging as the first book I read by the same author, The Couple Next Door (blog entry for June 24, 2018). The plot is intricate and grabbed me from the opening paragraph of the Prologue.

She doesn't belong here. She bolts out the back door of the abandoned restaurant, stumbling in the dark – most of the lights are burned out, or broken – her breath coming in loud rasps. She runs like a panicked animal to where she parked the car, hardly aware of what she is doing.

Chapter One: A man, Tom Krupp coming home late from his job as an accountant to an empty house in the suburbs, discovers that dinner preparations having been halted mid-slice on a tomato, no wife or note to be found. Karen, his wife of two years, apparently departed in a hurry leaving her purse and cell phone behind and forgetting to lock the front door. All these details are very atypical of the detail-focused and supremely organized woman he loves. What is going on? Where is she? Is it too soon for him to alert the police that she is missing?

Chapter Two: Three adolescent boys, out to smoke a joint in an abandoned restaurant come across a dead body, rifle it for its valuables, and leave. They do not report their discovery to the police.

If the reader suspects, because these scenarios are in the same book, that they scenarios are linked in some manner, he would be correct.  It is no spoiler to reveal that they are indeed related. But I am lured in to the novel to learn specifically how theses crimes are connected. Detective Rasbach and his fellow investigator Jennings lead the reader through a labyrinth of logic with sound, solid detective work. They are excellent investigators in a manner similar to Sargent Joe Webb and his sidekick Officer Joe Gannon in the 1950's TV series Dragnet. They seek the FACTS. While Rasbach and Jennings are both scrupulous in harvesting evidence, each also has a strong ability to assess a suspect's moral character and judge the candor in his/her responses.

It is the precisely the characters' analysis and development however, that I highly appreciate in Shari Lapena's crime mystery work. Their doubts, their thought processes, and the revelation of their innermost fears and longings put the word "psychological" in the genre "psychological thriller". This book is much more than "Just the facts, ma'am". Do the characters waver in their trust and support of each other? Do the facts, or lack thereof, drive a wedge between previously committed companions? Can a stalwart faith be infused with doubt? As these feelings unfold, so does the mystery. I give A Stranger in the House four stars. I like the writing style and pace of the author; the plot and characters merit a  strong recommendation. I only deducted one star because I favored Lapena's previous novel The Couple Next Door, which I had given five stars. Perhaps my repeat encounter with the author siphoned away a bit of her novelty, though I admit I was blindsided by a twist near the end. What really are the facts, ma'am?